Head coach John Slusser talks with his players during a time out late in second quarter of play Saturday night. / PAUL ROBBINS/Tribune

Written by

JIM BARSTOW

Staff Writer

WEST LAFAYETTE - Celebrating football victories is a favorite past-time in the village of West Lafayette.

But even in the wake of Ridgewood High School's 31-9 win over Crooksville in Saturday night's season opener, people knew when to put away the brushes and stop painting the town orange.

"The celebration doesn't really last very long," senior lineman Jordan Lusk said. "We know we have a big week ahead of us. Coshocton is one of the biggest rivalries around.

"We're just happy to get the 'W' and get off to a good start. Now we want to move forward and take one week at a time."

Unveiling new helmet logos emblazoned with the "Silver Hammer" along with the initials of the late and former RHS football coach Chuck McMasters in capital letters, the Generals came up with a defensive effort that would've made McMasters proud.

"We didn't know what to expect defensively," head coach John Slusser said. "We hadn't been real good in scrimmages. The main thing is we wanted to play Ridgewood football. I thought for the most part we did."

The Generals cranked out 230 rushing yards and limited Crooksville to 34 in total offense while charging to a 24-0 halftime lead.

"We controlled the line of scrimmage well and was able shut down their option," Lusk said. "The coaches really cracked down on us last week so we were ready. We had the mindset that we were going to come in and dominate."

Crooksville's only points came via a safety halfway through the fourth quarter and a 10-yard touchdown run by Levi Watts about a minute later.

"Our defense was just amazing," Slusser said.

Lusk added that the after-effects of a pregame ceremony honoring McMasters, a former coach at RHS who died of cancer last winter.

"We knew we couldn't lose on Chuck's night and Coach Slusser made sure he let us know that," Lusk said.

That motivation was realized.

"I thought our kids came out with great intensity," Slusser said. "We got off to a nice start."

Junior Derrick Young heightened those emotions with an explosive 81-yard touchdown run 24 seconds into the game and again early in the second quarter when he intercepted a pass and returned it 40 yards for another score.

A big play on offense and one on defense was followed by one from the special teams when sophomore Skylar McQuiston nailed a 22-yard field goal.

The offense did the rest with a 36 yard TD run by sophomore quarterback Jake Conrad before the half and a fourth quarter run-in by senior Eric Pitcher.

"Derrick had a big night," Lusk said. "He's a good football player and we'll rely on him to do that pretty much every game. He's a big player for us. All our backs ran hard and the line was a big help by opening some holes." Young finished with 114 yards on just eight carries - an average of 14.3. The Generals finished with 340 out of the Wing T offense and distributed them among five players.

Friday night, Coshocton used seven players to pile up over 280 yards in a 20-13 win over Johnstown Northridge.